When are the Meetings? Meetings of the San Diego County Democratic Central Committee (SDCDP) are held on the third Tuesday of every month at the I.B.E.W. 569 Union Hall (4545 Viewridge Ave, San Diego, 92123). Meetings are every other month in non-election years and the meeting schedule may vary for holidays or election-related dates.
Who Attends the Meetings? These Central Committee meetings are open to all Democrats. The voting members of the body are the Elected, Ex-Officio, Designated, Appointed, and Lifetime Members. Alternates will serve as voting members if their appointer is not in attendance. Alternate and Associate members may participate in the discussion on issues before the body. Other attendees may address the body if recognized by the Chair. Members will be emailed the proposed Agenda, Minutes from the previous meeting, and any documents that will be discussed at the meeting. Members are expected to review these documents prior to the meeting. Members sign in when they enter the meeting hall. Voting members will be issued a voting stick. If a member is not present, their Alternate will be issued the member’s voting stick.
What Takes Place at the Meeting? Each meeting's agenda may differ and will be approved by the body at the beginning of the meeting. Broadly speaking, these are the agenda items, the purposes of each item, and the order most frequently used:
Call Meeting to Order
Declaration of a Quorum Based on confirmation from the secretary, the chair will announce if a quorum is present. A quorum consists of over fifty percent of the voting body. Without a quorum, the meeting may proceed but no votes may be taken.
Pledge of Allegiance The chair will recognize someone in attendance to lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Members should remain standing for any Remembrances.
Remembrances The body will recognize individuals who have passed away during the previous month, followed by a moment of silence.
Approval of the Agenda The agenda provides the sequence of items to be addressed at the meeting. A motion, a second and a majority vote are required to approve the proposed agenda. Note: To add an item to or change the agenda once it has been approved requires a motion and a second to suspend the rules to alter the agenda, and that motion must be approved by a two-thirds majority.
Approval of the Minutes A motion, a second and a majority vote are required to approve the minutes.
Elected Official/Candidate Remarks Any elected official or candidate who attends a Central Committee meeting will be given an opportunity to address the body. The time allotted will be one or two minutes. Exceptions may be made for individuals who travel long distances to appear before the Central Committee.
Business The agenda will include business to be conducted at the meeting. Selected items are considered as part of a Consent Agenda.
Consent Agenda The Consent Agenda is an administrative device to facilitate meetings by eliminating a lengthy discussion of recommendations from the Areas or the Executive Board that are likely to be passed by the body. The Chair will ask if there are any items to be pulled from the Consent Agenda. Any member may move to “pull” an item from the Consent Agenda for any reason. For each item that is pulled, first the person who pulled the item will be allowed to speak and the Vice Chair of the area making the recommendation will be allowed to speak with any time limits set by the Chair. The pulled item then goes to a vote of the body without any additional discussion. A vote of fifty percent (50%) of the body will pull the item from the Consent Agenda. Once all pulled items have been considered for pulling, it returns to a motion, second, and vote to approve the remaining Consent Agenda items without further discussion. The threshold to pass a Consent Agenda motion on officer ratifications is a simple majority (>50%) and candidate endorsements or ballot measure positions is a threshold of sixty-percent (60%).
Items Pulled from the Consent Agenda Each item that was pulled from the Consent Agenda will be dealt with separately following the vote on the Consent Agenda as if it has been presented as a standalone item. It will require a motion, a second, discussion, and a vote to pass using same thresholds that would have been used for the Consent Agenda. This process will repeat until each pulled item has been addressed.
Old Business Any items introduced at a previous meeting for which any action or discussion is pending fall under Old Business.
Reports Party officers will deliver short reports on any developments or news from the past month. Committee chairs will present as needed.
Correspondence/Announcements
The floor will be open for members to make announcements of interest to the Democratic community. Announcements are limited to 1 minute.
Adjournment The chair must declare the meeting adjourned. Any member may move to end the meeting. If the end time in the adopted agenda has been reached, or if the end of the agenda has been reached, the Chair may declare the meeting adjourned without a motion.
